Protective insert for a head covering which has a covering portion in the form of a half shell

ABSTRACT

A protective insert for a head covering which has a covering portion in the form of a half shell, having a plurality of coherent portions of a flexible, collapsible plastics material, which portions can be brought from a planar basic form into a use position that enables insertion into the covering portion, in which use position the protective insert has a half-shell form corresponding to the covering portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority of DE 20 2020 104 220.3, filed Jul. 22, 2020, the priority of this application is hereby claimed, and this application is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a protective insert for a head covering which has a covering portion in the form of a half shell.

Head coverings having a covering portion which is in the form of a half shell and engages over the top side of the head are known in particular in the form of baseball caps, which are worn for different sporting activities or else in leisure activities. During sporting activity, such a head covering is donned willingly for example when playing baseball, or else when playing golf or when playing cricket. Such a head covering is also often worn in other types of sport, such as for example when skateboarding or rollerblading. In the types of sport mentioned, it is the case that either play is conducted with a ball, specifically in the case of baseball, golf or cricket, or one moves at relatively high speed on rollers, such as in the case of skateboarding or rollerblading or the like. A certain risk of injury is naturally also always involved, since it cannot be ruled out that one either is accidentally struck by a ball or, as a skateboarder or rollerblader, falls over. In particular in the case of playing golf, it very frequently occurs that a person who runs over the green is accidentally struck on the head by a ball that has been hit.

If one is struck on the head by such a ball, or if one falls over when skateboarding, it can be relatively painful, since the head covering, in the form of the cap consisting of a thin, single-layer fabric, does not provide any significant protection. An alternative to this would be wearing a correspondingly stable head covering which has an as it were helmet-like design, such as for example is worn when cycling or the like. Such a bulky and correspondingly cumbersome head covering, however, is not accepted since it is frequently also perceived as disruptive during the activity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is therefore based on the problem of specifying a possibility for better head protection, in particular in the case of types of ball sports.

To solve this problem, provided according to the invention is a protective insert for a head covering which has a covering portion in the form of a half shell, consisting of a plurality of coherent portions of a flexible, collapsible plastics material, which portions can be brought from a planar basic form into a use position that enables insertion into the covering portion, in which use position the protective insert has a half-shell form corresponding to the covering portion.

The invention proposes a flexible protective covering which, by virtue of its flexibility and by virtue of the fact that it of a plurality of flexible portions that form a coherent insert structure, proceeding from a planar basic form can be brought into a use form in the form of a half shell in which it can be placed as an insert into the covering portion, which is correspondingly of a similar form and in the form of a half shell. The head covering, i.e. for example the baseball cap, can consequently be equipped with this protective insert as required without problems, since the protective insert can be inserted detachably into the covering portion, and therefore the head covering can be worn on the one hand without a protective insert. However, in situations in which there is a certain potential of risk, precisely for example during actual play or the like, the head covering can be equipped with the protective insert such that the head is considerably better protected. This is because the protective insert which, as described, consists of a flexible plastics material, offers a corresponding cushioning function resulting from its flexibility or elasticity which accordingly cushions the impact of a flying ball or the like correspondingly, and therefore the impetus is not transmitted directly to the skull, but rather is absorbed to a considerable extent by the elastic, cushioning protective insert and accordingly the risk of injury can be significantly reduced.

The fact that the protective insert can be brought into a compatible half-shell form that corresponds to the covering portion has the effect that, for the wearer, ultimately there is scarcely any noticeable difference from wearing the head covering without a protective insert. This is because the fit is maintained as a result of the corresponding form compatibility. The insertion is also configured very simply, since in the case of head coverings of this type there is always a turned-over edge, wherein the protective insert laid in the form of a half shell can be pushed with its bottom edge into precisely this turned-over edge, and therefore said protective insert on the one hand can be fixed in its half-shell form in this way, and on the other hand cannot fall out of the head covering.

For the user, a very flexible possibility is accordingly provided to equip the head covering with a corresponding protective and cushioning function by inserting the protective insert, specifically whenever this is required. Furthermore, as before, the user can wear their accustomed head covering which they usually don for play, since the protective insert can be inserted as a detachable part into an already present head covering. In addition, of course, the protective insert can be part of a combination of the head covering, i.e. the baseball cap or the like, and the protective insert, which are optionally matched to one another in terms of color, and therefore in this case a corresponding protective set composed of head covering and detachable protective insert is provided for the user.

In a refinement of the invention, it can be provided that the portions adjoin one another at the edge at least in certain portions in the use form. The portions thus lie next to one another or, depending on the required size of the half shell, are spaced apart from one another via a relatively narrow gap. In any case, however, the portions do not overlap in particular in the half-shell form, which is advantageous for the wearing comfort. This is because portions which are caused by overlapping and are twice as thick or bead-like, and which possibly can be felt during wear and would impair the wearing comfort, are then not obtained. As a result of the fact that such overlapping specifically does not occur, the wearing comfort can accordingly be configured very pleasantly.

A more specific inventive configuration of the protective-insert geometry provides a central Y-shaped portion, which has three portion regions which, in the basic form, extend preferably symmetrically from the center in a Y shape to the side, and also three further portions, a respective one of which is positioned between two portion regions and in each case attached to a portion region, wherein the further portions are formed such that, in the half-shell form, they largely or completely fill the region between two portion regions. The central Y-shaped portion with its three portion regions defines the substantial protective region of the protective insert. The portion regions extend away from the center and widen expediently toward their edge, wherein, on account of the flexibility or elasticity of the plastics material, the portion regions can be formed correspondingly in a manner following the half-shell form without problems. The intermediate regions between two adjacent portion regions, which intermediate regions are obtained during the transition into the half-shell form, are filled by the further portions which of course in their basic form or boundary form are designed such that they correspond to the free intermediate space between two portion regions, and therefore each further portion can be slid into this free region at least approximately in a form-fitting manner and fills said free region largely or completely.

In principle, two portions of the unipartite protective insert are connected to one another via corresponding connecting webs, wherein such a connecting web is thinner in comparison with the thickness of the respective portions, and expediently also shorter than the edges of both portions that lie adjacent to one another in the use position. Such a relatively short and thin connecting portion ensures on the one hand the fixed attachment or connection of the portions, but also on the other hand the flexibility and also the fitting into the corresponding free space between two portions, since, by virtue of the relatively short connecting region, a relative displacement of both portions when transitioning from the basic form into the use position is possible without problems.

In some head coverings or caps, provided on the rear side of the covering portion, i.e. in the neck region or at the back of the head, is a semicircular or curved aperture which is closed on the bottom side via a tensile band, by way of which the circumference of the covering portion can be adapted to the head size of the wearer. In order on the one hand to avoid the situation in which this cutout is filled by the protective insert or the protective insert is visible in this region, and on the other hand however, even if such an aperture is not provided but rather the covering portion is closed at the rear side, to avoid the situation in which, when the head is pressed back into the neck, the material curls up there, which is perceived as uncomfortable, the invention provides that a portion which is positioned on the rear side of the covering portion in the inserted position has a curved cutout at the edge. This cutout has as it were a double function. On the one hand, it avoids the situation in which the protective insert as such is visible when being integrated into a cap with a rear-side cutout. On the other hand, in this way in principle a curling-up of the material when the head is pressed back into the neck is avoided. In the case of the Y-shaped central portion, such a “neck cutout” can be provided on one of the three portion regions that is to be positioned there.

The portions themselves should have a thickness of 2-6 mm, in particular of 3-5 mm and preferably of 4 mm. Such a thickness makes it possible on the one hand to configure the protective insert in a sufficiently flexible manner such that it can be brought effortlessly into the corresponding half-shell form, wherein it can also be adapted to the ultimate form of the head without problems. On the other hand, as before, a sufficiently thick protective or cushioning material is present, which offers corresponding cushioning even in the event of a relatively strong hit from a ball or striking of the head. A thickness of approx. 4 mm has proven to be particularly expedient overall, however somewhat thinner or thicker protective inserts are also similarly functional.

It is particularly preferred if the thickness of at least some of the portions, preferably of all of the portions, decreases toward the edge bounding the half-shell form. As described, the protective insert is inserted into the inside of the head covering or the covering portion and inserted with its edge into the turned-over cap edge, via which it is fixed. Since the cap edge is turned over, and since there sometimes a tensile band is also integrated at least to some extent, already at least two material layers lie there and when the tensile band is integrated possibly also a third, one on top of another, such that a sufficient thickness is already provided there. If the thickness of the portions is then reduced at the edge, as provided according to the invention, and the material is thus thinned out there, the protective insert edge can thus be inserted into the turned-over cap edge without the overall thickness changing there in a manner too noticeable for the wearer. A reduction in thickness by at least 25% based on the average thickness of the portion, in particular by at least 35% and preferably by at least 50%, has proven to be expedient. In the case of an average portion thickness of 4 mm, a 50% reduction would result in an edge thickness of 2 mm.

In the process, this reduction can either take place abruptly, i.e. via a corresponding step, or, preferably, as it were linearly, in that the thickness decreases toward the edge over a length. This length over which the thickness is reduced linearly amounts to at least 1 cm, in particular at least 1.5 cm and preferably at least 2 cm. It is thus conceivable for example for the thickness to be able to be decreased over a portion length of approx. 25 mm or the like. In this way, it is ensured that a corresponding reduced thickness is provided in the double-layer cap edge region, but the desired full material thickness is then provided again in the region of the head side in the protective insert regions adjoining said cap edge region.

It is furthermore expedient, in particular in order not to excessively increase the overall thickness in the double-layer cap edge despite integration of the protective insert, if at least some of the portions which bound the edge of the protective insert laid so as to form the half-shell form have a thinner edge portion at this edge than in the adjacent surface region. As an alternative or in addition to the thickness reduction already described, it is also possible to form on some or virtually all portions a correspondingly thin edge portion, which is inserted into the turned-over cap edge. A corresponding reduction in material thickness, which is advantageous for the wearing comfort, is also achieved in this way. In this case, the edge portion can extend over at least 25%, preferably at least 50, of the edge length and in particular over the entire edge length.

The edge portion itself should have a width of 2-10 mm, in particular of 3-8 mm and preferably of 4-6 mm, along with a thickness of 0.5-2 mm, in particular of approx. 1 mm. This is sufficient in order to achieve a correspondingly significant reduction in material in this region, but also at the same time a good fixing of the protective insert inside the cap.

A particularly advantageous refinement of the invention provides that at least some of the portions, preferably every portion, has an open-pore structure. The or every portion is accordingly “perforated”, thus offering the possibility of ventilation, that is to say that air and moisture from the head can be guided through the protective insert to the actual fabric cap and can then be discharged from there. This also promotes the wearing comfort, since in this way excessive sweating is avoided or simply ventilation can take place.

This open-pore structure can result in a simple manner by perforation of the plastics material, which can be processed expediently in an areally closed manner in a plastics injection-molding process using a suitable injection mold for the purpose of producing the protective insert, after which the corresponding through-holes, for example circular holes, or the like can be punched out with a corresponding die.

As an alternative to this, the production of the open-pore structure or the through-holes can already be produced in the actual plastics injection-molding process using the corresponding injection mold. For this purpose, the structure can consist of round or polygonal structural elements which are coherent among one another, wherein the structural elements and/or regions between the structural elements have through-holes. That is to say that provided in a manner distributed over the surface area is a multiplicity of structural elements which are positioned next to one another, have the same geometry, define the portion thickness and are mutually connected to one another via correspondingly narrow and very thin connecting webs which allow a relative mobility of the structural elements in relation to one another. It is then conceivable that these structural elements are perforated, i.e. already present in the open state. As an alternative or in addition, the regions between two structural elements can also be correspondingly perforated. It is preferable if both the structural elements and the regions in between, in which the connecting webs are provided, are correspondingly perforated, with the result that a very high “degree of opening” is obtained, which allows a very good exchange of air and moisture.

As described, the central function of the protective insert is its cushioning function. It is manufactured from a flexible plastic which on the one hand has to be flexible or elastic in such a way that the protective insert can be brought into the desired half-shell form, but which on the other hand should also have a sufficient cushioning function in order to ensure that as much energy as possible is absorbed or eliminated by the protective insert in the event of the impact of a ball or the like. In order to make this possible, the invention provides the use of a plastic which has either a Shore A hardness of 40-100, preferably 60-95, or a Shore D hardness of 15-70, preferably 20-64. The Shore hardness is a measure of the hardness of a plastics material, wherein the Shore A hardness is used to specify the hardness of softer elastomers, are the Shore D hardness is used to specify the hardness of tougher elastomers and thermoplastics. The higher the hardness value, the harder is the material, wherein, within the hardness intervals specified, as before, a sufficient elasticity and thus softness are provided, which allow the achievement of the desired targets with respect to flexibility on the one hand and cushioning function on the other hand. That is to say that ultimately different types of plastics can be used which, however, can be correspondingly characterized via the corresponding Shore hardness values.

It is preferable if a thermoplastic elastomer is used as the plastic. Said thermoplastic elastomers are plastics which behave like a conventional elastomer at room temperature, but in the warm state can be plastically formed, i.e. exhibit a thermoplastic behavior. That is to say that they have as it were rubber-elastic properties, which allow the corresponding cushioning and flexibility. At the same time, they can be processed by injection molding in a simple manner, similar to a thermoplastic, and therefore it is possible to produce the protective insert in the required geometry and form without problems by injection molding.

It is preferable if a thermoplastic urethane, which is usually referred to as TPU, is used as the plastic. Thermoplastic urethanes which are usually used as polyether polyurethane or polyester polyurethane usually have a hardness of 55 Shore A to 85 Shore D, but the hardness can be varied yet beyond that by adding corresponding plasticizers or the like. The TPU is a wear-resistant material which can bear dynamic high loads and is very well suited for the intended use.

In addition to the protective insert itself, the invention also relates to a combination of a head covering with a covering portion in the form of a half shell and a protective insert of the type described above. All of the features which are described above and below in relation to the protective insert itself similarly apply to the combination according to the invention of head covering and protective insert and can thus also be claimed for this purpose.

In this case, the head covering itself is either a baseball cap, a cricket cap, a golf cap or a skateboarding cap, wherein common to all of these caps is that they have a covering portion in the form of a half shell, a corresponding shield usually adjoining said covering portion at the front.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of the disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages, specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows a view of a basic illustration of a protective insert according to the invention in the planar basic form,

FIG. 2 shows a perspective basic illustration of the protective insert from FIG. 1, which is laid in the use position that is in the form of a half shell,

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view along the line III-III in FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view along the line IV-IV in FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 shows an illustration of a combination according to the invention of head covering and protective insert in the non-inserted position, and

FIG. 6 shows the combination from FIG. 5 with a protective insert inserted into the head covering.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a protective insert 1 according to the invention, which is designed for the purpose of integration into a covering portion, in the form of a half shell, of a head covering, such as a baseball cap. The protective insert 1 consists of a plurality of coherent portions 2, 3, 4, 5, wherein the portion 2 is the largest portion, which represents the central portion and is designed in a Y shape. In the basic form, said portion has three portion regions 2 a, 2 b and 2 c, which extend from the center 6 as it were symmetrically or at an angle of 120° to the side. The portion regions 2 a, 2 b widen toward the edge, but are bounded at the edge via an as it were straight edge line, while the portion 2 c indeed likewise widens toward the edge, but has a curved or circular arc-shaped cutout 7 at the edge, wherein the portion region 2 c furthermore is slit to some extent via a slit 8. This portion region 2 c sits on the rear side of the head, i.e. adjacent to the neck, in the wearing position.

By virtue of the Y shape, necessarily corresponding large-area cutouts 9, 10, 11 are obtained between two adjacent portion regions 2 a, 2 b and 2 c. In the use position, when the protective insert 1 is laid so as to form the half-shell form, said cutouts are substantially filled via the portions 3, 4, 5, for which purpose the portions 3, 4, 5 have a form adapted to the form of the cutouts 9, 10, 11, wherein in the present case as it were church window-like geometries of the portions 3, 4, 5 are obtained.

Each portion 3, 4, 5 is connected to the adjacent portion region 2 a, 2 b, 2 c at the edge via a connecting web 12, 13, 14, wherein it is apparent that these connecting webs 12, 13, 14 extend only a relatively short distance along the two adjacent edges of two adjacent portions and portion regions. The connecting webs 12, 13, 14 are considerably thinner than the edges of the adjacent portions 3, 4, 5 and/or portion regions 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, with the result that they make it possible to very simply and flexibly adjust the portions 3, 4, 5 or portion regions 2 a, 2 b, 2 c in relation to one another.

Formed at each portion 2, 3, 4, 5 or also in the portion regions 2 a, 2 b, 2 c in each case is an edge portion 15 a, 15 b in relation to the portion regions 2 a, 2 b or 16, 17, 18 in relation to the portions 3, 4, 5. This respective edge portion 15 a, 15 b, 16, 17, 18 extends almost over the entire length of the respective portion edge or portion region edge, but has a considerably thinner design, which will be addressed below further in relation to FIG. 3.

The protective insert 1 itself is composed of a plastics material, preferably of a thermoplastic elastomer, and among these in particular a thermoplastic urethane. The plastics material has a Shore A hardness of 40-100, preferably 60-96, or a Shore D hardness of 15-70, preferably 20-64. The higher the hardness value, the harder is the material. The expedient hardness range is 60-95 in the case of Shore A.

Since the protective insert is a plastics component which is in one piece, it is preferably produced in a simple plastics injection-molding process using a corresponding injection mold. It is apparent that the protective insert 1 has a perforated form, that is to say that it has a multiplicity of through-holes, so that therefore it exhibits holes over its entire surface area that allow passage of air or moisture in the wearing position. For this purpose, in the exemplary embodiment shown, all of the portions 2, 3, 4, 5 are formed from dimensionally identical structural elements 19 which are arranged adjacent to one another, the height of which ultimately defines the thickness of the protective insert 1, and which are connected to one another via corresponding, considerably thinner connecting webs 20. This will also be further addressed below.

As described, the protective insert 1 serves for insertion into a covering portion, in the form of a half shell, of a head covering such as a baseball cap. For this purpose, the protective insert 1 can be brought into precisely such a half-shell form in the use position; see FIG. 2. This is made possible since, on the one hand, the protective insert 1 is very flexible or elastic by virtue of being produced from a thermoplastic elastomer, such as in particular the thermoplastic urethane, and accordingly can be laid readily into the corresponding form. On the other hand, the basic geometry of the individual portions 2, 3, 4, 5 that is shown in FIG. 1 ensures that a half-shell form which is almost losed is obtained in the use position. As FIG. 2 shows, in the use position or the half-shell form, the portions 3, 4, 5 are inserted in the cutouts 9, 10, 11 between the portion regions 2 a, 2 b, 2 c; they are spaced apart from one another merely via a narrow gap.

That is to say that a half-shell form which is almost closed is provided, which is adapted exactly to the half-shell form of the inner side of the covering portion of the head covering. There is advantageously no overlapping of the adjacent portions or portion regions, which is conducive to the wearing comfort.

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view through the protective insert 1 located in the basic position along the line III-III in FIG. 1. What is shown is firstly two structural elements 19, which are connected to one another via a connecting web 20. In the region of the sectional illustration that is shown on the left and shows the section of the part, directed toward the center 6, here of the portion region 2 b, the thickness d1 or height of such a structural element 19 and thus of the protective insert 1 itself amounts to 4 mm; the thickness d1 is illustrated in FIG. 3. By contrast, the thickness d3 of a connecting web 20 in the example amounts to 1 mm; this thickness d3 is also illustrated in FIG. 3.

As can also be seen from FIG. 1, the sectional view runs through the edge of the portion region 2 b. As shown clearly in FIG. 3, the thickness or height decreases over the length 11, which amounts to approx. 25 mm, in the direction of the edge. The structural element 19 illustrated fully in this region is shown clearly in a manner decreasing in its thickness. Proceeding from the base thickness d1=4 mm, at the edge a minimum thickness of d2=2 mm is obtained; this thickness is also depicted.

Finally, the corresponding edge portion 15 b adjoins the edge directly, the thickness d4 of said edge portion likewise amounting to 1 mm, and the length 12 of said edge portion amounting to for example 5mm.

This geometry is provided at the edge on all portions 2, 3, 4, 5, that is to say that the bottom edge of the half shell narrows in the manner described in the half-shell form shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows a further sectional view along the line IV-IV according to FIG. 1. Here, the connecting region between the portion region 2 b and the portion 4 is shown. At the respectively adjacent edges, in turn in each case a structural element 19 is shown, wherein the two edges here are connected to one another via the connecting web 13. Said connecting web has a thickness d5 likewise of d5=1 mm, along with a width b of b≈3 mm, wherein this width can vary somewhat over the length.

As FIG. 1 but also FIGS. 3 and 4 show, the protective insert 1 is perforated over the entire surface area. On the one hand, the individual structural elements 19 have through-holes 21, as in particular FIGS. 3 and 4 show. On the other hand, however, also provided between two adjacent structural elements 19 are through-holes 22, in the region of which the connecting web 20 are provided. That is to say that accordingly obtained is both a perforation within the individual structural elements 19 and also in the regions between said structural elements, such that an extremely high degree of perforation which ensures a very good ventilation is provided.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the structural elements have an annular form. Nevertheless, the geometry of the structural elements is not restricted to this. Also conceivable for example are polygonal forms, e.g. triangular or honeycomb-shaped hexagonal forms, i.e. in particular forms which can be interleaved well, with the result that a correspondingly high packing density is possible, in conjunction nevertheless with a high perforation rate.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a combination 23 according to the invention of a protective insert 1 according to the invention and a head covering 24, here in the form of a baseball cap, which in a manner known per se has a covering portion 25 in the form of a half shell.

FIG. 5 shows the two parts next to one another, that is to say that the protective insert 1 is present in the planar form known from FIG. 1. Said protective insert is then inserted into the covering portion 25 from the inner side; FIG. 6 shows a sectional view.

The covering portion 25 has a turned-over inner edge 26 which is formed for example by sewing on a band or the like. This turned-over edge 26 runs at the edge accordingly parallel to the outer casing 27, which ultimately forms the actual covering portion 25. On account of this double-layer configuration, accordingly an encircling push-in portion 28 is obtained, into which the protective insert 1 laid so as to form the half-shell form is pushed with its edge 29 and in which it is fixed. The edge 29 is formed by the edge region that reduces in thickness over the length 11 and also the edge portion 15 a, 15 b or 16, 17, 18 that adjoins said edge region; see FIGS. 1 and 3. Since the material of the protective insert 1 is accordingly considerably thinner there than by comparison with the actual base area, accordingly, despite pushing the edge 28 into the push-in portion 28, no uncomfortable thickening of material is obtained there, that is to say that the wearing comfort is not uncomfortably changed despite pushing-in or integration.

If the head covering 24 equipped in this way with the protective insert 1 is worn, a very good head protection is thus offered against the impacting of a ball or another object compared with the mere, only single-layer head covering. That is to say that the impact impetus is cushioned or at least partially compensated via the elastic protective insert, and therefore in such a case the risk of injury can be reduced.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles. 

We claim:
 1. A protective insert for a head covering which has a covering portion in the form of a half shell, comprising a plurality of coherent portions of a flexible, collapsible plastics material, which portions can be brought from a planar basic form into a use position that enables insertion into the covering portion, in which use position the protective insert has a half-shell form corresponding to the covering portion.
 2. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein the portions adjoin one another at the edge at least in certain portions in the use form.
 3. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein a central Y-shaped portion is provided, which has three portion regions which, in the basic form, extend preferably symmetrically from the center in a Y shape to the side, and in that three further portions are provided, a respective one of which is positioned between two portion regions and in each case attached to a portion region, wherein the further portions are formed such that, in the half-shell form, they largely or completely fill the region between two portion regions.
 4. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein two portions via a connecting web which is thinner in comparison with the thickness of the portions and shorter than the edges of both portions that lie adjacent to one another in the use position.
 5. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein a portion which is positioned on the rear side of the covering portion in the inserted position has a curved cutout at the edge.
 6. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein the portions have a thickness of 2-6 mm, in particular of 3-5 mm and preferably of 4 mm.
 7. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of at least some of the portions, preferably of all the portions, decreases toward the edge bounding the half-shell form.
 8. The protective insert according to claim 7, wherein the thickness decreases by at least 25%, in particular by at least 35% and preferably by at least 50%.
 9. The protective insert according to claim 7, wherein the thickness decreases over a length toward the edge of at least 1 cm, in particular of at least 1.5 cm and preferably of at least 2 cm.
 10. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the portions which bound the edge of the protective insert laid so as to form the half-shell form have a thinner edge portion at this edge than in the adjacent surface region.
 11. The protective insert according to claim 10, wherein the edge portion extends over at least 25%, preferably at least 50%, of the edge length and in particular over the entire edge length.
 12. The protective insert according to claim 10, wherein the edge portion has a width of 2-10 mm, in particular of 3-8 mm and preferably of 4-6 mm.
 13. The protective insert according to claim 10, wherein the edge portion has a thickness of 0.5-2 mm, in particular of 1 mm.
 14. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the portions, preferably every portion, has an open-pore structure.
 15. The protective insert according to claim 14, wherein the structure consists of round or polygonal structural elements which are coherent among one another, wherein the structural elements and/or regions between the structural elements have through-holes.
 16. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein the plastic has a Shore A hardness of 40-100, preferably 60-95, or a Shore D hardness of 15-70, preferably 20-64.
 17. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein the plastic is a thermoplastic elastomer.
 18. The protective insert according to claim 17, wherein the plastic is a thermoplastic urethane.
 19. A combination of a head covering with a covering portion in the form of a half shell and a protective insert according to claim
 1. 20. The combination according to claim 19, wherein the head covering is a baseball, cricket, golf or skateboarding cap. 